Cali moves to save Yosemite.

[Dot Com]

Good on them. You've got to save this natural treasure, not to mention make tourists aware of the dangers. Uncensored2008 knows of the dangers of Half Dome & the Merced River I'm sure. I remember people (tourists) underestimating Half dome and falling-off & people getting swept away in the river after falling by the waterfall just last season.

A Plan to Save Yosemite by Curbing Its Visitors

The Park Service’s plan would restore more than 200 acres of meadows, reorganize transportation and reduce traffic congestion. To shrink the human presence along the Merced River, park officials are also proposing closing nearby rental facilities for bicycling, horseback riding and rafting, and removing swimming pools, an ice rink and a stone bridge.

We have a similarly beautiful dangerous park right by this great nation's capitol (Caribou Barbie-speak ) Great Falls Park right down the street from me (2 12/ miles), people die there every year. The river looks deceptivly calm but its the current 5 ft down that gets a hold of you and pulls you down. Scary stuff. They're doing a good job of managing the foot traffic though to preserve the areas natural beauty.

Awesome interactive article:
In the Potomac’s grip: Why people drown at Great Falls

The perils at Great Falls. From thundering falls to placid-looking shallows, deadly hazards lurk in water all along the Potomac River Gorge.

 

[Flopper]

Yosemite is a truly a wonderful place. Unfortunately the number of visitors can be overwhelming. There's a series being rerun on PBS call THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA'S BEST IDEA. It's worth a look if you haven't already seen it. National Parks are an American idea and a great one at that.

 

[mamooth]

In a bad drought year, I went and stood under Yosemite Falls. It was down to a trickle.

I then hoofed it up the 3000' ascent to the top. Brutal switchback trail. Walked down the mostly dry creekbed to the lip. Turns out you can't peer over the lip into the valley, because it's a gradual curve as opposed to a sharp edge.

Never did the half-dome trail. I did go up the 4-mile trail. Beautiful day in the valley, raging snowstorm at the top.

And go buy "Death in Yosemite" to get a fine accounting of all the deaths in the park.

 

[Old Rocks]

I have been to most of the National Parks west of the Mississippi. All have unique beauty and unique dangers. Every year one sees accounts of people hiking into the Grand Canyon or one of the Parks in Utah and dying of dehydration. The year that my son lived in Durango, Colorado more people went to the hospital with hypothermia in the summer than in the winter.

Our Parks and wildlands are extroidinery, and one should visit and hike as many in a lifetime as possible. But be aware of the dangers of each. Changes in elevation means changes in humidity, temperature, and wind. If the weather turns on you, be ready to turn back, or if to far in, hunker down and ride it out. Carry enough water for a longer period than you plan. Ditto food. And, in the mountains, always cloths that you can layer. I have seen 50 degree changes, both ways, in 15 minutes.

Stay on trails, and use only regulated campsites in the high use parks. We want the beauty to be there for our grandchildren. Be extremely careful with fire. Don't even think of a campfire once the needle hits the extreme mark on the Forest Service signs. With our population, no trace camping is not a luxury, it is a neccessity if we are to maintain the beauty of our Parks and wildlands.

 

[Coloradomtnman]

I've been to the Valley four times. Once for two months as a dirt bag climbing bum (got up Half Dome's NW face but didn't do the Nose on El Cap), once when hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (hiked through Sequoia and Kings Canyon as well as Yosemite), and a couple of quick trips as well to climb. The place is a mad house. Camp 4 is a shithole. Traffic can be as bad as the 405. I'm glad to see that something is being done to limit impact because that is a sacred place. Our national parks are priceless treasures and so are our wilderness areas and it might suck that we have to limit access, but they must be preserved.

 

[flacaltenn]

Yeah -- that's right...... Renting a tube to float down the valley is EXTREMELY damaging to the park..

And those stone bridges were just some bad FDR idea..

Riding a mule up towards Nevada Falls --- should never be an experience that common folks without joining the Park Service.

And for 2 decades now -- they've been threatening to oust the 150 or so householders grandfathered into Wawona.. My best bud has a cabin in there. Right in the park.. Next to the Wawona Elementary school.. On the Merced.

Chase all that humanity the hell out of there and make it hard to bring Granny to the valley with ya.

Good plan..

 

[mamooth]

Camp 4 is a shithole.

Yeah, but it's a National Historic Landmark shithole.

News Release - Yosemite National Park

 

[Dot Com]

Yeah -- that's right...... Renting a tube to float down the valley is EXTREMELY damaging to the park..

And those stone bridges were just some bad FDR idea..

Riding a mule up towards Nevada Falls --- should never be an experience that common folks without joining the Park Service.

And for 2 decades now -- they've been threatening to oust the 150 or so householders grandfathered into Wawona.. My best bud has a cabin in there. Right in the park.. Next to the Wawona Elementary school.. On the Merced.

Chase all that humanity the hell out of there and make it hard to bring Granny to the valley with ya.

Good plan..

start right out w/ hyperbole? we're having a serious discussion here.

You should check out the links I provided for the river near me below the OP link. Awesome interactive graphics.

 

[flacaltenn]

Yeah -- that's right...... Renting a tube to float down the valley is EXTREMELY damaging to the park..

And those stone bridges were just some bad FDR idea..

Riding a mule up towards Nevada Falls --- should never be an experience that common folks without joining the Park Service.

And for 2 decades now -- they've been threatening to oust the 150 or so householders grandfathered into Wawona.. My best bud has a cabin in there. Right in the park.. Next to the Wawona Elementary school.. On the Merced.

Chase all that humanity the hell out of there and make it hard to bring Granny to the valley with ya.

Good plan..

start right out w/ hyperbole? we're having a serious discussion here.

You should check out the links I provided for the river near me below the OP link. Awesome interactive graphics.

Not hyperbole at all.. One of the highlights of my entire life.. Taking kids and nieces and nephews floating down the middle of the valley on a tube.. ((BTW -- not dangerous at all after the spring floods.))

In fact MANY of the highlights of my life occured in that magic place..
But I had the advantage of having access to a full private cabin in that park.. And I don't believe that you should be rich enough to have the concierge at the Ahwannee Hotel fetch you some tubes for a float down the river. Or rich enough to have a private packer bring in some mules for a couple days up in the High country.

Go ahead -- deprive folks of that contact.. You could always join the NPService to get the real experience.

 

[flacaltenn]

This is the same leftist crap that's been pushed for Yosemite for 30 years now..

The complaints are that some folks are MAKING MONEY providing services to people visiting the park.
HORRORS... Cash being exchanged in the Temple..

Guess we should bulldoze the Awahnee -- Pull up the Wawona Hotel and the ONE GAS STATION within 40 minutes and certainly -- the golf course has to go also.. That's absolute heresy...

We cannot ALLOW folks to have amenities for a vacation or their precious 3 day weekend. We should make them hit Yosemite for the afternoon and then move on to Modesto for everything else..

FDR would be rolling in his grave watching all those "shovel ready" NRA projects they want to blow up.

 

[Flopper]

It only took about 8 posts before this thread started turning political. It seems like whatever forum you post someone will turn the thread political.

 

[Dot Com]

It only took about 8 posts before this thread started turning political. It seems like whatever forum you post someone will turn the thread political.

aint that the truth. Try to save natural beauty from being despoiled and tourists getting hurt & cons, like flacaltenn's known for, jumps right in to stoke conspiracy fears

 

[flacaltenn]

It only took about 8 posts before this thread started turning political. It seems like whatever forum you post someone will turn the thread political.

aint that the truth. Try to save natural beauty from being despoiled and tourists getting hurt & cons, like flacaltenn's known for, jumps right in to stoke conspiracy fears

The OP is political.. Didy'all read it? The folks pushing these reforms don't like commerce being done in the Park. They don't like PRIVATE concessionaires. They want the Govt to flip the burgers for them.. It's all about commerce --- and very little about "restoring" anything.

I've been involved in Yosemite politics.. I KNOW the sides personally.. My friends cabin there has been a political hot potato since I've known them.

Yosemite would restore ITSELF in a mere decade if we became extinct tomorrow.

 

[Old Rocks]

We aren't going go exinct tomorrow, so let's restore Yosemite now.

 

[flacaltenn]

We aren't going go exinct tomorrow, so let's restore Yosemite now.

Restore it how? By getting rid of a couple stables, hotdog/float concessions and parking lots?

Or should we really start turning folks away and make it by appointment only?

I'm truly sorry that mules and stables offend the sensibilities of some eco-whacks. Or that cars are allowed to drive in the valley.. Or that filet mignon is served at the Ahwahnee.

 

[dilloduck]

We aren't going go exinct tomorrow, so let's restore Yosemite now.

To what ? Do you have some time specific condition that you want the park to return to ?

 

[flacaltenn]

Hey... I've got an idea.. Why don't we let Yosemite KEEP the gate reciepts?? Instead of those funds disappearing into another death drone?

Pretty soon the Park Service would see those visitors as the prime reason they have a job. And all of a sudden --- visitors wouldn't be considered a blight on the landscape.

Who knows? Maybe the infrastructure would get more eco-friendly. In fact --- Let the Forest Service charge a small surcharge for mule rides up to Nevada Falls, or nightime history lectures or floating down the valley. Or guided tours.

Trailhead volume for packers is ALREADY highly limited. So the bulk of the park is NOT overrun in any way..

Not really a problem of "saving Yosemite" from the onslaught of tourists.
The bigger problem as the OP suggests --- is saving the tourists from the dangers of being in Yosemite.
The more you limit access to the wilderness, the less prepared humans are gonna be to behave properly in that setting..

 

[Flopper]

Hey... I've got an idea.. Why don't we let Yosemite KEEP the gate reciepts?? Instead of those funds disappearing into another death drone?

Pretty soon the Park Service would see those visitors as the prime reason they have a job. And all of a sudden --- visitors wouldn't be considered a blight on the landscape.

Who knows? Maybe the infrastructure would get more eco-friendly. In fact --- Let the Forest Service charge a small surcharge for mule rides up to Nevada Falls, or nightime history lectures or floating down the valley. Or guided tours.

Trailhead volume for packers is ALREADY highly limited. So the bulk of the park is NOT overrun in any way..

Not really a problem of "saving Yosemite" from the onslaught of tourists.
The bigger problem as the OP suggests --- is saving the tourists from the dangers of being in Yosemite.
The more you limit access to the wilderness, the less prepared humans are gonna be to behave properly in that setting..

The majority of the revenues return directly to the park where they were collected.

Entrance Fees Generate Hundreds of Millions of Dollars A Year for National Park Service | National Parks Traveler

 

[flacaltenn]

Hey... I've got an idea.. Why don't we let Yosemite KEEP the gate reciepts?? Instead of those funds disappearing into another death drone?

Pretty soon the Park Service would see those visitors as the prime reason they have a job. And all of a sudden --- visitors wouldn't be considered a blight on the landscape.

Who knows? Maybe the infrastructure would get more eco-friendly. In fact --- Let the Forest Service charge a small surcharge for mule rides up to Nevada Falls, or nightime history lectures or floating down the valley. Or guided tours.

Trailhead volume for packers is ALREADY highly limited. So the bulk of the park is NOT overrun in any way..

Not really a problem of "saving Yosemite" from the onslaught of tourists.
The bigger problem as the OP suggests --- is saving the tourists from the dangers of being in Yosemite.
The more you limit access to the wilderness, the less prepared humans are gonna be to behave properly in that setting..

The majority of the revenues return directly to the park where they were collected.

Entrance Fees Generate Hundreds of Millions of Dollars A Year for National Park Service | National Parks Traveler

That's a book-keeping justification. Much like saying that the majority of Cali Lottery collections "go to education".. Adjustments to budgets take the reality down the crapper.

What is needed is a "gate INCENTIVE" for the Park Service.. Not a gate "disincentive".. Right now -- the money that comes back has NOTHING to do with gate reciepts.

 

[Flopper]

Hey... I've got an idea.. Why don't we let Yosemite KEEP the gate reciepts?? Instead of those funds disappearing into another death drone?

Pretty soon the Park Service would see those visitors as the prime reason they have a job. And all of a sudden --- visitors wouldn't be considered a blight on the landscape.

Who knows? Maybe the infrastructure would get more eco-friendly. In fact --- Let the Forest Service charge a small surcharge for mule rides up to Nevada Falls, or nightime history lectures or floating down the valley. Or guided tours.

Trailhead volume for packers is ALREADY highly limited. So the bulk of the park is NOT overrun in any way..

Not really a problem of "saving Yosemite" from the onslaught of tourists.
The bigger problem as the OP suggests --- is saving the tourists from the dangers of being in Yosemite.
The more you limit access to the wilderness, the less prepared humans are gonna be to behave properly in that setting..

The majority of the revenues return directly to the park where they were collected.

Entrance Fees Generate Hundreds of Millions of Dollars A Year for National Park Service | National Parks Traveler

That's a book-keeping justification. Much like saying that the majority of Cali Lottery collections "go to education".. Adjustments to budgets take the reality down the crapper.

What is needed is a "gate INCENTIVE" for the Park Service.. Not a gate "disincentive".. Right now -- the money that comes back has NOTHING to do with gate reciepts.

More than half of the revenue collected by the park stays in the park. The remainder goes to the park service to support other parks. Without a portion of the revenues from high revenue parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone many of the lower revenue parks like the magnificent Wrangle in Alaska, North Cascades in Washington, and Crater Lake in Oregon would not have the revenue needed to operate.